Laid-Off Workers Can Get Help To Start Business Through VGCC
Laid-off workers have an opportunity to explore their potential for self-employment through a program now being offered at Vance-Granville Community College.
The New Opportunities for Workers (NOW) program helps individuals assess and improve their readiness for business ownership. Offerings include short courses in starting and running a business, and technical assistance on a variety of business topics. All are geared toward those who lost their jobs because of plant closings and layoffs.
A new REAL (Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning) class to prepare people for self-employment will begin Sept. 12 at Vance-Granville. This class will run through Nov. 14 on Mondays from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on the college’s main campus in Vance County.
REAL utilizes a hands-on approach to planning, creating and operating a small business. Topics covered in the class include self-employment assessments, business plans, basic business structures, market research, taxes and licenses, cash flow and other areas necessary to making a small business a success. Ann Jaeger, who has owned and operated several successful small businesses, is the course instructor.
Persons who have lost their jobs due to downsizing, or who are underemployed, and want to start a small business should contact Diane Finch, VGCC Small Business Center director, at (252) 738-3240. She will discuss with interested applicants the feasibility of their plans and whether they may qualify for assistance from NOW. Persons who qualify may have their $60 tuition and book costs paid by the NOW program.
VGCC is one of 22 community colleges that host the NOW program. NOW was created by a partnership involving the community college system, the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center, the entrepreneurship training program and other economic and commerce organizations.
More than 300 individuals have taken courses or received technical assistance through the NOW program, and 72 laid-off workers are preparing to open small businesses within the next six months.
